Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the interdisciplinary fields of robotics and artificial intelligence, more particularly to computerized robotic food preparation systems for food preparation by digitizing the food preparation process of professional and non-professional chef dishes and subsequently replicating a chef's cooking movements, processes and techniques with real-time electronic adjustments.
Background Art
Research and development in robotics have been undertaken for decades but the progress has been mostly in the heavy industrial applications like automobile manufacturing automation or military applications. Simple robotics systems have been designed for the consumer markets but have largely not seen a wide application in the home-consumer robotics space thus far. With advances in technology, combined with a population with higher incomes, the market may be ripe to create opportunities for technological advances to improve people's lives. Robotics has continued to improve automation technology with enhanced artificial intelligence and emulation of human skills and tasks in many forms.
The notion of robots replacing humans in certain areas and executing tasks humans would typically perform is an ideology in continuous evolution since robots first were developed in the 1970s. Manufacturing sectors have long used robots in teach-playback mode, where the robot is taught, via pendant or offline fixed-trajectory generation and download, which motions to copy continuously and without alteration or deviation. Companies have taken the pre-programmed trajectory-execution of computer-taught trajectories and robot motion-playback into such application domains as mixing drinks, welding or painting cars, and others. However, all of these conventional applications use a 1:1 computer-to-robot or tech-playback principle that is intended to have only the robot faithfully execute the motion-commands, which is almost always following a taught/pre-computed trajectory without deviation.
Gastronomy is an art of eating well, where a gourmet recipe blends subtly high quality ingredients and flavor appealing to all our senses. Gourmet cooking follows rules based on techniques that can be very elaborate, requiring expertise and technique, and lengthy training in some cases. In the past few years, demand for gourmet food has grown tremendously because of fast rising incomes and a generational shift in culinary awareness. However, diners still need to visit a certain restaurant or venue for gourmet dishes made by a favored chef. It would be rather advantageous to see a chef preparing your favorite dish live in action or experience a dish preparation reminiscent of a childhood dish made by your grandmother.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a system and method to have a chefs gourmet dish made and served conveniently to consumers in their own home(s), without the necessity to travel to each restaurant around the world to enjoy specific gourmet dishes.